MegaCity: Oceania
MegaCity: Oceania Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
To become the most renowned architect in the new MegaCity by physically constructing buildings, completing Contracts, and scoring the most prestige points.
Description of Gameplay
Players build a single MegaCity. You compete for prestige points by collecting Contracts, Platforms, and sustainable Building Pieces, then constructing the required buildings in between your turns. Your buildings are added to the city to complete Contracts. Prestige points are scored for each completed Contract. You can also gain bonus prestige points by creating tallest buildings, using a single building material, and placing monuments in Parks. At the end of the game, Awards are handed out which contribute to final scores, but leftover Building Pieces will lose you points. Whoever has the most prestige points is declared the winner.
Components
- 1 Rulebook
- 1 Bag
- 150 Building Pieces, in three colours: glass, concrete, steel
- 29 double-sided hexagonal tiles: 24 Platforms, 4 Parks, 1 Central Park
- 36 Contracts: 32 Standard Contracts, 4 Landmark Contracts
- 2 Rulers
- 1 Tallest Building Marker
- Awards Bar
- 4 Specialisation Awards, 4 Diversity Awards, 1 Tallest Building Award
- 32 Player Cubes, in four player colours
- 60 Prestige Tokens
Prestige is Everything!
The player with the most prestige at the end of the game is declared the winner.
Prestige points are scored for completing Contracts and winning Awards. Bonuses are also available. Prestige Tokens and icons on cards and Awards are each worth 1 point at the end of the game.
Play Area
You will build in your own play area and then carefully slide finished buildings on Platforms into the growing MegaCity. The first Platform must be connected to Central Park.
All buildings must be within 3 Platforms of Central Park.
Building in MegaCity
Between your turns, you will use the Building Pieces you collect to build on hexagonal Platforms, actually constructing the buildings that will meet the requirements shown on your Contract Cards.
Building Types
There are four building types in MegaCity: Public, Industrial, Commercial, Residential.
The building type on the Platform must match that on the Contract Card. Match the colours and icons to ensure you are using the correct ones.
Setting Up
Find a large, flat surface to play on. Set up the supply area as follows:
- Shuffle the Platforms and place in a stack. Flip over 3 Platforms beside the stack to form a supply.
- Separate out the 4 Landmark Contract Cards (with the white backs) and set them aside for now. They will come into play later.
- Shuffle the 32 Standard Contract Cards, then deal out a number of them face up: 12 for a 2 player game, 14 for 3 players, 16 for 4 players. Ensure there are at least 2 cards of each of the four building types; if not, reshuffle and deal again. Separate these cards into their 4 different building types, putting them into face-up columns so players can see how many are available. Return the remaining Standard Contract Cards to the box. They will not be used.
- Place the Awards Bar on the table (public side up), then put the Awards on their marked spaces, alongside the Tallest Building Marker and Rulers.
- Place the Prestige Tokens nearby to form a supply.
- Put all the Building Pieces in the Bag.
Player seating goes clockwise: Player 1, Player 2, Player 3, Player 4.
Place the Central Park tile where all players can reach. This is the first Platform of the MegaCity. Determine a starting player. Give each player 1 Park and a set of 8 Player Cubes in a single colour. The starting player begins the game with no Building Pieces. Going clockwise, the second player draws 1 random Building Piece from the Bag. The third player draws 2 pieces and the fourth player draws 3 pieces. These will be used to construct your buildings. Give the Bag back to the first player.
You are now ready to play!
Playing the Game
Players will take turns in clockwise order. Between turns, you will construct your buildings. Each turn, you get to take up to 2 STANDARD ACTIONS (3 in a 2 player game) from the list below OR choose the special DELIVER action. You may choose to take the same STANDARD ACTION more than once on a turn, but may only DELIVER once per turn. Then pass the Bag to the next player to complete your turn.
Standard Actions
TAKE A BUILDING CONTRACT — Take the top Contract Card from one of the four columns and place it face up in your play area. You may have a maximum of 2 Contract Cards in your play area (3 in a 2 player game).
TAKE A PLATFORM — Take 1 of the 3 available Platforms from the supply. Refill the empty space by flipping over a new tile from the stack. The Platform colour and the icon on the border denotes the type of building that can be constructed on the tile. You may have a maximum of 2 Platforms in your play area (3 in a 2 player game).
TAKE BUILDING PIECES — Take 3 Building Pieces from the Bag, at random. Alternatively, you may take 1 Building Piece of the material of your choice. You must announce the material required (Black Steel, Grey Concrete or Clear Glass) and search the Bag for a piece of that type. If none remain, take 3 pieces at random. A maximum of 15 Building Pieces may be kept in your play area. At the end of your turn, you must select and return any excess pieces to the Bag.
REZONE A PLATFORM — Flip a Platform in your play area to its reverse side, changing the permitted building type. The hexagonal Vent shows the colour on the opposite side of the Platform.
REFRESH PLATFORMS — Place all 3 Platform tiles in the supply on the bottom of the stack. Then, flip over 3 new Platforms from the top of the stack.
REORGANISE BUILDING CONTRACTS — Take the top Contract Card from any 1 of the 4 building types and place it at the back of the column, revealing a new Contract Card.
Special Action: Deliver
You should announce you intend to deliver a building. All other players should stop building immediately.
Use a Ruler to demonstrate that the building is tall enough. Show that it has the correct number of Building Pieces, and that it meets any architectural requirements. Other players may confirm this by comparing the building to the Contract Card.
To deliver, you carefully slide the Platform with its building into position, physically moving it across the table to connect it to the MegaCity.
If a building falls during the DELIVER action, you take back all your Building Pieces and your Platform. You forfeit your turn and should attempt to rebuild and deliver on a future turn.
The first Platform must touch Central Park. Each subsequent Platform added to the city must touch at least one other tile. All Platforms must be within three tiles of Central Park.
When successfully delivered, flip the corresponding Contract Card face down to show you have completed it and score the prestige shown.
You then have the option to either PLACE A PARK, PLACE A MONUMENT, PLACE A CENTRAL PARK MONUMENT or end your turn.
+ PLACE A PARK — You begin each game with a Park, which you may add to the city following a DELIVER action. Join it to the Platform tile you just added. Note: A Park may NOT be placed next to another Park tile. The starting Central Park tile DOES count as a Park, and so another Park cannot be placed next to it.
+ PLACE A MONUMENT — If you deliver a building next to an empty Park (not Central Park), you may add to the cultural value of the MegaCity by adding a sculptural monument. You take a single Building Piece from your play area and place it in the adjacent Park.
At the end of the game, every building surrounding this cultural Park will score a Prestige Token. Each Park may only contain one monument.
+ PLACE A CENTRAL PARK MONUMENT — Public buildings have a special status in the MegaCity. If you deliver the first Public building to the city you may use a Building Piece from your play area as a monument in Central Park. You then immediately take a Prestige Token. In addition, at the end of the game, every building surrounding Central Park will score a Prestige Token, if it contains a monument.
Everytime a new Public building is delivered to the city, the player who built the new building may return the current monument to the Bag, then replace it with a new monument from their own play area. They immediately score a bonus Prestige Token.
If you have no spare Building Pieces (or you choose not to replace the monument), you do not claim the bonus Prestige Token. Leave the current monument in place. The Public building does not need to be placed adjacent to Central Park in order to place a monument there.
Remember: A monument may only be added to Central Park following the delivery of a Public building.
Bonus Prestige Tokens
When using the DELIVER action to add a building to the city, you can earn bonus Prestige Tokens in 3 different ways.
- NEW TALLEST BUILDING — If the building is the new tallest building in the city. Use the Ruler to confirm. Place the Tallest Building Marker on the tile and take 1 Prestige Token. The first building added is automatically the tallest.
- SINGLE MATERIAL — If the building is made entirely of a single material (Black Steel, Grey Concrete or Clear Glass), take 1 Prestige Token.
- CENTRAL PARK MONUMENT — If you add a monument to Central Park, take 1 Prestige Token. (See +PLACE A CENTRAL PARK MONUMENT).
Note: Multiple Prestige Tokens can be gained from a single building. For example, a new tallest building entirely made of steel pieces would earn the player 2 bonus Prestige Tokens.
Constructing Buildings
Between their turns, players should build on the Platforms, constructing buildings that will meet the requirements of their Contract Cards. Build on the Platform that corresponds to the colour of the Contract Card.
Contract Cards
Players may look at Contract Cards in the supply area at any time, but must return them in the same order. Most Contract Cards state an EXACT amount of pieces that must be used, though some with a symbol allow the player to use more than the stated number of pieces. All Contract Cards show a MINIMUM height that must be reached. Use the Rulers provided to measure buildings. Measure from the base of the building. You are building huge megastructures. Each millimeter represents a single floor. The height measurement refers to the minimum number of floors required by your building.
Contract Cards also have special architectural requirements which must be met before the building can be delivered to the MegaCity. See the REFERENCE GUIDE on the back page for details. If a building does not meet all requirements, it may not be delivered.
Platforms
All buildings in your MegaCity need power, water and waste disposal. These are provided by the three circular Utility Ports on each tile. You MUST build on these Utility Ports. Pieces do not need to cover the circles entirely, but all 3 Utility Ports must have at least 1 piece touching.
No Building Piece can be placed directly onto the hexagonal Vent unless otherwise instructed by an architectural requirement. However, it is allowed to have a Building Piece above the Vent, suspended using other pieces. The colour of the Vent also shows what type of building can be constructed on the reverse side.
Building Pieces
Building Pieces may be used horizontally or vertically, or even leaned against other pieces. There is no penalty if a building falls during construction.
All Building Pieces used in a building must touch at least 1 other piece. The building must be contained within the edges of the entire Platform.
When a building is complete, before delivering, the player incorporates 1 of their Player Cubes somewhere on the building to indicate who built it. The Player Cube does not count towards the number of Building Pieces but it can add to the height of the building.
A Platform shows: a Utility Port at each of the three circular ports, a Vent at the centre hexagon, a Minimum Height marking, the Exact Number of Building Pieces required, a Special Architectural Requirement, and the prestige value the completed Contract is worth (for example, "This contract is worth 4 prestige points").
Notes from the Designers
Remember you can't beat physics! If you are trying to build huge skyscrapers that keep falling down, consider why that is happening. Build with good supporting structures, resting pieces against each other. Think stability; 1 piece standing up on its own is much more likely to fall than 2 or 3 together.
Don't aim too high, especially when starting out! Remember you must deliver the Platform into the growing MegaCity to score points.
Think of the environmental conditions; if you are playing on an unsteady table you should build a lower cityscape.
Good building takes time - MegaCity is not a game to be rushed! Give all players plenty of time to create their buildings. Of course, players should be building when it's not their turn, but if someone requires a few moments to put the finishing touches to their creation, let them take those extra seconds, especially in the final rounds of the game. Enjoy playing and creating your unique MegaCity!
End of the Game
When the last remaining Standard Contract Card has been taken by a player, place the 4 Landmark Contract Cards in the supply area, face up. They are now available to take, but ONLY if you have no Standard Contracts in your play area. You may only work on 1 Landmark Contract at a time.
When the final Standard Contract has been COMPLETED, each player takes 1 more full turn as normal. Once all players are done, you must make a final decision to either RECYCLE your pieces or DELIVER a final building.
To RECYCLE, you return all the spare Building Pieces in your player area back to the Bag. You take a single Prestige Token for recycling, regardless of how many pieces were returned.
To DELIVER, you must be able to complete a Landmark Contract. You have 1 chance to construct and deliver your final building. If the building collapses while being built or added to the city, you forfeit your turn and must take all your pieces back, losing you points during final scoring.
Once all players have chosen to either RECYCLE or DELIVER, the game is over.
Fallen Buildings
If a building falls during a DELIVER action, the active player takes back all pieces and their Platform tile. They forfeit their turn and should attempt to rebuild and deliver on a future turn.
If a building falls after it has been added to the city, play should stop immediately. Any Building Pieces that are directly touching the table are removed and returned to the box (as they have fallen into the ocean). Any Building Pieces that remain on Platforms should be carefully removed by the players and returned to the Bag. If players feel that removing a piece could potentially cause further damage, it can be left in the city. Any completed Contract Cards remain completed.
If the tallest building falls, the Tallest Building Marker is moved to the tile of the new tallest building. However, a Prestige Token is not earned by the building's owner.
Running out of Building Pieces
Building Pieces will rarely run out, but it can happen. If there are no more pieces remaining when a player chooses to take some from the Bag, the game immediately moves into its final turns. Players take 1 more turn each (ending with the player who was unable to take a Building Piece). Of course, players cannot take Building Pieces during these final phases, but can take Contract Cards and Platforms as usual. Once done, each player chooses to either RECYCLE or DELIVER. Score as normal.
Parks, Awards and Final Scoring
Check each Park (including Central Park) for monuments. Players claim 1 Prestige Token for each of their buildings adjacent to each Park containing a monument. Buildings adjacent to multiple Parks can score more than once.
Awards are then handed out.
- A SPECIALISATION AWARD is given to the player with the highest prestige value of each of the 4 individual building types. Total the prestige point icons on the back on your completed Contract Cards to determine the winner. The Awards are worth 2 prestige points each. No Award is given if there is a tie.
- A DIVERSITY AWARD is given to any player who built at least 1 building of each of the 4 types. The Award is worth 3 prestige points.
- THE TALLEST BUILDING AWARD is given to the player with the tallest building in the city at the end of the game. It is worth 3 prestige points.
Players work out their final scores by:
- Adding the total prestige points from all completed Contracts (determined by counting the prestige point icons on the back of the Contract Cards).
- Adding 1 point for each Prestige Token they have.
- Adding any bonus prestige points received from Awards.
- Subtracting 1 prestige point for every 3 Building Pieces remaining in their player area (round the pieces up to the next 3).
The player with the highest number of prestige points is the winner. In the case of a tie, the tied player with the tallest building is the winner.
MegaCity: Simplified Rules
Some players may prefer to try MegaCity with simplified rules. We suggest making the following changes to make your game even more accessible.
- Use the side of the Awards Bar marked (the simplified side).
- Do not use Prestige Tokens or the Landmark Contract Cards.
- Do not place any monuments.
- The game immediately ends when the final Standard Contract is built or there are no Building Pieces in the Bag.
- During FINAL SCORING, subtract two prestige points from each player who did not add their Park to the MegaCity.
Reference Guide
Building Types
Public, Industrial, Commercial, Residential.
Turn Summary
2 STANDARD ACTIONS OR special DELIVER action (3 STANDARD ACTIONS in a 2 player game).
Standard Actions (x2): Take a Building Contract, Take a Platform, Take Building Pieces, Rezone a Platform, Refresh Platforms, Reorganise Building Contracts.
Deliver Action (x1): Add a building to the growing MegaCity, then choose 1 (only following a DELIVER action): +Place a Park, +Place a Monument, +Place a Central Park Monument. Then check for BONUS PRESTIGE TOKENS: New Tallest Building, Single Material, Central Park Monument.
Architectural Requirements
Each Standard Contract comes with an architectural requirement that must be met before the building can be added to the city. Landmark Contracts have 2 architectural requirements. You do NOT have to use the specific Building Pieces shown on the card to complete the requirement.
- COURTYARD — The building must have an enclosed area on the ground level. This area must be at least partially visible.
- NO OVERHANG — No Building Piece may hang over the edge of another piece.
- NO GLASS / NO CONCRETE / NO STEEL — The building may not contain any pieces of the specified material (clear glass pieces, grey concrete pieces, black steel pieces).
- BUILD ON VENT — At least 1 Building Piece of the building must partially touch the tile's hexagonal Vent. The Utility Ports must be built on as normal.
- UPPER ARCHWAY — The building must have a visible archway on any upper level. Pieces with holes may be used as upper archways.
- LOWER ARCHWAY — The building must have a visible archway at the Platform level.
- NO RESTRICTIONS — The building is free from any additional limitations. The other requirements remain (Platform type, number of Building Pieces and minimum height).
Credits
Game Design: Michael Fox & Jordan Draper | Game Development: Michael Fox & Anita Murphy
Art Direction: Anita Murphy | Cover Illustration: Mike Best (Imagine CGI) | Graphic Design: Winnie Shek | Design Intern: Kendal Patterson | Project Management: Emma Goudie
Special Thanks: To all our playtesters and rule checkers.
All Rights Reserved (c)2019 Hub Games Ltd. MegaCity: Oceania (word marks, logos and devices) and the Hub Games logo are trademarks of Hub Games Ltd.
PO Box 406, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT1 9PL — www.wearehubgames.com